Budget Smart, Invest Wise

Personal Finance

Buying a home is one of the most significant financial commitments you make in life and so it makes sense to protect the building that houses your family from unexpected events. Severe weather is becoming an increasing threat on a more widespread level than ever before and so unless you have a crystal ball, it’s essential to have a strategy in place to protect your greatest asset – your home.

Here are some tips to help you prevent damage to your home:

Choose your insurance wisely: It’s important to completely understand your home insurance policy and what it covers in the event of your home sustaining any damage as a result of severe weather or any other cause.

Do you need Umbrella coverage? An Umbrella home insurance policy helps protect you from any incident or accident involving your home, including events where you’re determined as being at fault. Say for example your home is damaged as a result of someone leaving the taps running in the bath which causes extensive damage to the floor and ceiling of the room below. An Umbrella policy will protect you in events such as this.

Does your policy have full replacement coverage? This kind of home insurance policy provides for a rebuild of your home or replacement of items in it based on today’s prices. Other policies not offering full replacement cover only provide for the original cash value or market value of your home and its contents.

Keep detailed records: Make sure that you have all the details of your policy and who to call in the event of making a claim somewhere safe. When you’re in the middle of an incident and you are panicking about what to do, knowing where to look for the information you need is of great comfort. Most people have access to cameras with their smartphones these days which is important when it comes to making claims as photographic evidence can go a great way to substantiating the extent of damage done.

Keep an up to date inventory of your possessions: When you first take out your policy, make a video record of each room in the house, focusing on the items covered by your policy. Keep this information with your other policy details and if you make any purchases of significance, update your policy and take a picture of the new item to keep your records straight. Having as much information as possible ensures a really smooth process should it come to making a claim.

Small home improvements can make a big difference to your premiums: If you live in an area that is prone to extreme and serious weather conditions, making the alterations to your building to protect it from these outcomes can significantly reduce your home insurance premiums. Similarly, if you live in an area where there is a lot of reported burglaries, installing a security system as extra protection can also affect how much your home insurance costs.

Protect Your Home Against Any Eventuality with the RIGHT Home Insurance Policy!

At TrustedChoice.com , we know the importance of taking the right steps to protect your home against the uncertainty of the future. Without the give of foresight, it’s just not possible to gauge how events will pan out or how your home may or may not be affected. Taking precautions by setting up a comprehensive policy that protects your most important asset over the long term gives you enormous peace of mind.

The online diamond and jewelry buying process is really scary for so many people who’ve never purchased something like this on the web. Since it’s such an expensive purchase – and can cost thousands of dollars if you’re buying an engagement ring – it often leaves people fearful and harboring a great deal of trepidation.

It’s hard not to be afraid when buying online, which is why some diamond sellers on the Internet do not succeed. They do not know how to make their customers feel comfortable that they’re getting exactly what they want when they buy a diamond or diamond jewelry on the Internet. JamesAllen.com does a great job of putting everyone’s mind at ease.

What makes JamesAllen.com so special? For starters, they really go out of their way to showcase every one of the diamonds they have for sale. They make it possible for their online customers to look at each and every one of the diamonds they plan to sell them, so they know exactly what they are getting whenever they make a purchase from this site.

That’s not all, because we only scratched the tip of the iceberg. So we’ll share some other amazing reasons why James Allen’s website is such an excellent place to buy diamond jewelry on the Internet. Read more about them here.

Many online diamond sellers have a tendency to use generic, stock diamond photos when they show pictures of potential diamonds and pieces that people might buy on their website. That is not how it goes on JamesAllen.com. On the contrary, they have figured out the best way to sell diamonds online to make all their customers feel good about their purchase and confident that they’re getting exactly what they order.

On this website, every image and video was taken of the actual diamond being sold. So if you look at a particular diamond ring, as an example, that you really love and want to purchase for your significant other, you can bet your bottom dollar that it’s the ring you’re going to get. All of the images and videos showcasing the ring are real, true to life, and represent the exact item you plan to purchase.

So never worry about buying a fake ring or phony image because that doesn’t happen on JamesAllen.com. This website is the real deal and their videos and photos are all real images of diamonds and jewelry they have for sale.

Customer Service Can Help You 24/7 All Year Round

James Allen understands the value of top level customer service and he has truly outdone himself on this website. He has a wide range of diamond experts available to answer your call, email, or instant message. So feel free to contact the expert staff at any time if you have any questions or concerns.

The staff is there to help you and the specialists know so much about diamonds. So do not hesitate to contact them whenever you feel it’s convenient.

Conclusion

Between real photos and videos and expert customer service, just know that you can’t go wrong making a purchase from James Allen’s website.

Obtaining a credit card processing system that works for your business is easier than you might think. While there are many options out there, there is one just specially made for your business practices and needs. Merchant Account Solutions offers a variety of POS systems to help you with everything from credit card transactions to database marketing and employee scheduling. Consider these merchant account options listed below to see what system works best for you. I cannot stress enough how important it is to know your business inside and out. Before making a decision you must do your due diligence in researching what type of system is right for your business. Somethings to consider are, how many customers you have in a given day, what type of monetization you need, is your business mobile? There are many things to consider when implementing cutting edge software into your business. It is worth your time and energy to go over these things as the reward is far greater then the time spent.

Clover Systems

The Clover line of machines offers you everything from a standing register to a handheld mobile device for accepting payments. This amazing system allows you to keep a record of client information to make your marketing plans easier to tailor to your client’s needs. You can even use your smartphone or tablet on the go to accept payments with the Clover Go option. A huge advantage this machine will give you is the ability to analyze your customer data management which will give you so much valuable information in determining which products you should push, what types of marketing materials you should create and even implementing a rewards program. Having a database of all your customers transactions from what they purchased, when they purchased to how much they purchased is crucial if you want to be strategic in your business and overall make more money and insightful decisions.

SmartSwipe

This is another great option available from the Merchant Account Solutions team. You can easily use your phone or tablet to be your POS machine without having to pay huge fees for a machine to be installed. This option is perfect for those running either a retail location or a restaurant. You can calculate tips, send receipts, keep customer information and run inventory all from your own device. SmartSwipe is the perfect way to get your credit card systems rolling without having to be tied down to a counter in one location. If you’re on the go with your business, this is the perfect POS option for you.

There are a variety of options available for you to accept credit and debit cards in your establishment. Be sure to check with Merchant Account Solutions for a variety of ways your store or restaurant can start accepting and processing credit transactions today. The pos system does not limit you to basic cash or credit card transactions but even allows customers to user their smartphones to complete their order through applications like Apple Pay.

Sidney Crosby is a professional hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed “Sid the Kid”, Crosby recently completed his twelfth season with the Penguins where he helped lead the team to yet another NHL Stanley Cup championship. Originally from Canada, Crosby was drafted first overall by the Penguins in the 2005 NHL draft and has remained with the team ever since. His career earnings for the Penguins is close to the nine figure range. This has helped Sidney Crosby’s net worth skyrocket over the years. As of 2017, Sidney Crosby’s net worth sits at $50 million.

Crosby was born in 1987 in the province of Nova Scotia in Canada. At just 29 years old, Crosby has garnered accolades thus far in his career that many could only dream of. Sidney has helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cup championships since his arrival, most recently back to back for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons. He led the NHL in goals scored this past season which isn’t surprising considering he has totaled nearly 400 goals during his twelve season NHL career. In addition to his NHL success, Crosby has also helped lead team Canada to back to back gold medals in the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

When Sidney first got drafted back in 2005, his first contract was worth $11 million for three years. The Penguins quickly recognized the great player he would become and in 2007 he signed a five year contract worth over $8 million a year. His top play continued, and knowing that they didn’t want to lose their franchise player, the Penguins signed Crosby to a 12 year $104 million contract in 2012. If Sidney plays out the remaining contract he has with Pittsburgh, he will have earned more than $150 million for his NHL career. To put that in perspective, the highest paying contract that NHL great Wayne Gretzky earned during his hall of fame career was a two year deal for $13 million in the late 1990’s.

Upon getting drafted by the Penguins in 2005, Sidney lived with Penguin great Mario Lemieux for five years before purchasing his own place. Crosby is very active in the community and in 2009 he created the Sidney Crosby Foundation that benefits children. At under six feet tall and 200 pounds, Crosby isn’t the biggest of hockey players, but he sure is one of the best.

As you start your business, you will definitely get a lot of advice about what you should and should not do. Most of the advice will come from people with no idea what it takes to run a successful company in today’s business environment. When you go the Internet, you’ll be flooded with, literally, thousands of articles and long lists focusing on the subject.

However, do not make the mistake of over-analyzing and over-thinking about how to take your company from one success level to the next. All you need is follow a few simple steps, and you are sure going to be headed down the path towards success. Here are five basic tips that have worked for many other successful companies.

Have a Detailed Plan

This is one of the first things you should definitely do. Devise a detailed business plan that fully explains how you will tackle the upcoming challenges. The plan should consist of possible opportunities, a clear mission, a description of your target, measurable goals and a set of deadlines for every milestone. Remember, while having a plan is great, you should also have one that is flexible enough to adapt to certain changes that may occur along the way.

Create Networks

Most successful businesses would not be where they are without having professional networks established when they started out. Of course, the process of creating networks is an ongoing process that never stops. Until you have established your business, you will need to depend on word-of-mouth; become your own brand ambassador and sell the benefits of working with your company whenever given a chance.

Start at your own momentum by attending trade shows, events and networking groups associated with professionals in your niche market. Such initial contacts may lead to future business prospects, strategic partners and mentors that can help grow your company.

Work with the Right People

The right strategic partners and mentors are not the only people you need to align yourself with. Surround yourself with a team that is great to work with. Building your staff with driven, talented and smart employees who share your vision will help steer you in the right direction.

Not only will such a great team transform how you do business, but they will also accelerate its growth. Hiring can-do, positive employees will help nurture a teamwork culture. A participatory environment occurs when everyone plays a critical role and collectively celebrates the company’s successes.

Always Stay Ahead

In today’s times, it is risky to stay rooted and only focus on what is happening on a day-to-day basis. It is critical that you keep focused on the future, predicting the possible changes in your industry and related service providers like insurance coverage through online resources like insurance.me can help. Without anticipating huge changes in the future, you are destined to lag behind.

Successful entrepreneurs are always looking at the trends and anticipating what is coming around the corner. This gives them an opportunity to put in place strategies to evolve and adapt to the changes.

Maintain a Healthy Balance Between Work and Life

Running a business requires a lot of time and energy. It is critical that you find a healthy work-life balance, but it can be challenging to do so. However, do not let work dominate your life.

The result of work overwhelming you is that you eventually lose touch with the people you consider the most important in life. It is also important that you take good care of your well-being and health. Your business cannot run without you. While you may believe that running a successful business requires perpetual hustle, that pace will eventually burn you out if you don’t take care of yourself.

In many ways comparing whole and term life insurance is like comparing apples and oranges. Although they both offer death benefits, everything else is different.

Term life insurance costs less initially and runs for a specific term, hence the name. The policy guarantees premiums only for the initial term and if you renew it, the premiums may change. The policy itself has no collateral value and you cannot use it as an asset to borrow money.

Whole life insurance tends to cost more initially, but the premiums are guaranteed to stay at that level for the life of the policy. The policy can be used as collateral to borrow money against.

The advantages of term life

Term life insurance is a great option when you cannot afford the protection offered by whole life or when you need coverage for a specific time period. Your initial premiums are less than whole life, but will increase at the end of the term whether it is 1-year, 5-years or whatever length the term runs for.

Term life insurance is perfect for families that are growing or to supplement existing insurance when cash resources are scarce. There is no cash value on term life insurance so it cannot be borrowed against, keeping its value full during the entirety of its course.

https://pixabay.com/en/life-belt-rescue-beach-coast-498453/

Advantages of whole life insurance

As opposed to term life, whole life insurance provides death benefits. It also accumulates value while it is active. You are eligible for dividends on the value and you can borrow money against it.

The biggest advantage, however, is that once you have been approved for whole life insurance, it can never be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums. No matter what happens, you will have life insurance and your death benefits will be paid.

Comparing apples and oranges

It’s easier to look at the benefits in comparison to each other:

TermWhole

Death benefitsDeath benefits

Premiums guaranteed for initial termPremiums guaranteed for life of policy

If you had a term policy that you had maintained for 30 years, through multiple premium increases, it would still only be worth its face value if you died.

If you had a comparable whole life insurance policy, through the same number of years, your premiums would not have changed from day one and you would be able to borrow against the value of the policy or surrender some of the value to put cash in your pocket.

The increase in premiums through the term policy would have brought the total spending to a roughly equal state but the whole life policy would be worth far more because you can do more with it than just pay off the beneficiaries when you die.

With term life, you are betting against an insurance company that you will die before the policy expires, while with whole life, you are betting that you will live long enough for the policy to be worth more than its paper value.

Gordon Hayward is a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. On July 4th of this year, Gordon agreed to sign a deal that would make him a Boston Celtic. Prior to signing a contract with Boston, Gordon spent his first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Utah Jazz. At 27 years of age, Gordon Hayward’s net worth sits at $20 million.

Gordon Hayward

Born and raised in Indiana, Gordon played his high school basketball at Brownsburg High School and went on to play his college ball at Butler University in Indianapolis. While in college, Hayward excelled in his freshman season. He started all 32 games for the Bulldogs that year and averaged over 13 points per game and earned the award for the conference’s newcomer of the year. He followed it up with a magical sophomore season where he averaged nearly 16 points per game and led his team to the championship game before losing to the Duke Blue Devils. After his second season at Butler, Hayward decided to enter the NBA draft. He was selected ninth overall by the Utah Jazz. He just finished up his seventh season with the Jazz, and his most recent season was his most productive. He averaged a career high for points per game at nearly 22 a contest. His stellar performance during the 2016-2017 campaign earned him his first All-Star appearance. His eight points and four steals in the all-star game helped the West division seal a victory over the East.

A very large percentage of Gordon Hayward’s net worth comes from his on the court earnings. Back in 2014, Hayward and the Jazz agreed on a contract extension that was worth $63 million over four years. This contract helped validate Hayward’s accomplishments. However, the deal would be cut a year short as Hayward agreed to a contract with the Boston Celtics. His contract with Boston will significantly increase Gordon Hayward’s net worth in the coming years. He signed a four year, $128 million contract with Boston. As it currently sits, Hayward will be the highest paid Celtic for the upcoming season and the third highest paid NBA player behind only Steph Curry and Lebron James.

Off the court, Hayward claims to be a huge fan of video games, and he has even played in the IGN Pro League. In 2016, Hayward signed a deal with the video game company, HyperX. Additionally, he has done a few local commercials for companies in the Utah area.

On a personal note, Hayward is married to his wife Robyn. The couple has two kids together. Hayward is a good tennis player and even won a club-level charity tennis tournament. Hayward has also appeared in a commercial for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and is a participant in the organization’s “Fan for Life” campaign.

Whether you built your business from the ground up or purchased it from someone else, it’s easy to become heavily emotionally invested in it. This can color your perceptions of its value, and even lead to hurt feelings when a potential buyer isn’t as interested or willing to pay a premium as you think they should be. This undermines your ability to successfully negotiate a deal.

Much of the work of a successful sale occurs well before you sign sale documents. Preparing your business to navigate due diligence, streamlining your operations, and other simple strategies can increase the value of your business, while making it more attractive to a potential buyer. A business broker can help you determine strategies that will make your business more attractive in advance of a sale.

Unbiased Assessments and Feedback

Don’t let emotions color your judgment. A business broker offers objective feedback that establishes realistic expectations. This objective feedback offers actionable insights that can help you choose the right buyer, competently negotiate price, and take steps to optimize the value and operations of your business.

Accessing Buyers

Business brokers know buyers. They know who is in the market, and who might be if the price and business are right. Most business owners don’t know how to find buyers, or they worry that searching for a buyer will scare off employees and lower the value of their business. Don’t rely on word of mouth or cold calling former partners. Work with a broker who can connect you not only to a group of buyers, but to the right buyer for your business.

Protecting Your Business

If people get wind of your plans to sell, there can be far-reaching reverberations. Management and staff may jump ship. Lenders may be scared off. Key employees may attempt to leverage the news into a share of the sales proceeds.

A skilled business broker can widen the search for the right buyer while doggedly protecting your business’s confidentiality. This is something business owners are rarely able to accomplish on their own. It’s also a strategy that saves time and money, while shortening the path to a successful sale.

Negotiating the Transaction

You need to run your business, not waste your time haggling over price or stressing about the impact of the sale on your operations. A business broker helps you seamlessly navigate the transaction, including negotiating key details. This lends a professional sheen to the transaction process, and can make your business more attractive to experienced buyers, who may not want to deal with a harried business owner.

Saving Time and Money

Your time is the most valuable asset you have. It’s the only thing you can’t get back. Consider how much time you might spend negotiating a sale. Now think about how you bill your time. That gives you insight into how much your wasted time is worth. Consider also that when you spend time on the transaction, you take time away from vital operations. This can send your business into disarray, and potentially even lower the value of your business. A broker saves you time, money, and stress by taking care of the day-to-day management of the sale for you. That frees you to run your business—or maybe even take a day or two off.

Worrying about money is a major stressor. Financial problems can wreak havoc on your physical and emotional health, your relationships, and virtually every aspect of your life. It is little wonder, then, that many folks who are struggling with their finances nurture dreams of a miraculous save, a deus ex machina such as a huge lottery or sweepstakes win. Accordingly many people spend more money than they should on lottery tickets and scratch-off games, with low-income people being among the most vulnerable to the (mostly) false hope that money will fall into their hands if they spend half of their paycheck on the next Mega-Millions game.

Don’t let your big dreams blind you to reality

Don’t misunderstand us. There’s nothing wrong with buying an occasional lottery ticket, or even daydreaming about what you would do if you won, but don’t pin all of your hopes and dreams on a big win. If you are truly struggling financially you’re far better off looking for more realistic solutions to your problems.

Setting and living within a budget that covers your expenses and allows you to have a decent quality of life, while still managing to contribute to your savings on a regular basis, is essential. While this can be a lot more difficult to do than to say, it is doable for most people.

One area where too many people get off that track is in accumulating more debt than they can handle on a regular basis. It is essential that you avoid debt unless it is necessary or will actually improve your financial condition. If you decide that you do need to take on a debt, you need to really know what that debt is going to cost you, and to shop around for the best source of credit.

Comparison sites for example provide you with a side-by-side comparison of the terms and costs of different lenders’ offerings on many types of loans The site also has tools such as financial calculators, and advice on how to best manage your household finances, so you don’t find yourself struggling and wishing for a windfall.

Most people know at some level that they could be smarter about managing their money. Nevertheless the siren song of the lotto calls to millions of people.

A tax on the poor?

Unfortunately, some of the most financially vulnerable, who can least afford to spend money for things that have virtually no chance of benefitting them, are the most likely to heed that call, to their detriment. It is not too difficult to understand the appeal, especially when someone who can barely afford the basic necessities has the promise of a $1 billion-plus jackpot dangled before them, such as has been the case with the American Powerball lottery. Visions of acquiring previously unimaginable wealth can be profoundly seductive when you barely have enough money to buy groceries for the week. And the tantalizing suggestion that somebody is going to win, so I have as good a chance as anyone, makes it exceedingly easy to part with a couple of dollars for a ticket, or even to cut back a bit on the groceries to buy more tickets, thus improving your chances.

What is not emphasized in the commercials is the fact that the jackpot is bigger because more people are buying tickets, diminishing your virtually nonexistent likelihood of winning even further. Add to that the fact that late in 2015, the table of available Powerball numbers from which to choose the winning five grew from 59 to 69, further reducing dramatically the chances that anyone will win. The pot gets bigger, and people’s fantasies are whetted to the point where they end up spending more of the money they really need for other things. It’s no wonder that some financial experts consider the Powerball lottery a state-sanctioned swindle. Other countries, including the UK, have similar games in place for one reason – they are a tremendous source of fast and easy revenue.

In 2009, the UK newspaper the Telegraph reported about a study by a think tank that showed people on low incomes spent disproportionate amounts on money on the National Lottery, adding credence to widespread claims that it is a tax on the poor. And the same phenomena can be seen in other countries that sponsor lotteries and sweepstakes.

Your chances of winning are slim, and it won’t solve all of your problems anyway

Aside from the fact that you’re more likely to be hit by a comet or be killed in a wreck on the drive to the store to buy your tickets, actually winning the lottery has proved to be as much a curse as a blessing for too many people. A 2010 study conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) found that even if you win the big prize, there is a 70% likelihood that you’ll be broke again within five years. Those money problems you had before you won? They will likely be there, only greatly multiplied, because most people adapt quickly to the dramatic change in scale, only to find themselves with a crushing burden of debt and tax payments after the cash runs out. And we won’t even get into the pressure from friends, acquaintances, and long-lost relatives who seem to magically appear, hands out, when they discover you’ve come into a pot of gold.

The bottom line is that the lottery won’t save you, but wise money management can save you from a world of stress, and money management is something that anyone can learn. Besides, if you learn to be smart about the money you have now, you’ll be far more likely to be smart if you ever do come into a fortune.

We all know that we should be saving for retirement. Whether you have a 401k, a pension, or an IRA, retirement accounts give individuals great tax breaks to help them prepare for their golden years. It is often reported that people misjudge how much they will need in retirement. The rule of thumb for a long time has been you need your retirement income to supplement 80% of your income when you were working; however, this number is different for everyone based on a number of factors. One thing is certain. Maxing out your retirement accounts never hurts. For 2017, the IRA contribution limits stayed the same as they were in 2016. You could contribute up to $5,500 towards your IRA, and if you were 50 or older you can contribute an additional $1,000 bringing your total yearly contribution limit to $6,500. The 2018 Roth IRA contribution limits won’t be released until October of this year, but we can speculate what they might be.

Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets the income and contribution limits for IRA’s. The last year that the IRS raise the contribution limit was for the tax year of 2013. The contribution amounts for traditional and Roth IRA’s are the same each year. They are evaluated and raised based on inflation. The IRS will raise contribution limits in increments of $500. This means that the next time they are raised, people under the age of 50 will be able to contribute a maximum of $6,000 a year to their IRA, while people over the age of 50 will be able to most likely contribute $7,000 a year. In order for this raise in contribution limits to take place, inflation would need to be around 9% over a period of time for this to occur.

9% of $5,500 = $495

This would be near the $500 increment level the IRS would like to see to raise the contribution limits.

Despite the fact that the 2018 Roth IRA contribution limits won’t change, the IRS will still probably change some limits. The limit they will change, and almost always do, is the income limits associated with eligibility for participation in IRA’s. For 2017, the IRS raised the income phase-out limit to $118,000 for single earners and $186,000 for married, joint filling earners, raises of $1,000 and $2,000 respectively.